Day four: Prime time for some inclines.
Day four started in Newcastle, with weather that made many
question whether this part of the country was aware it was only September and
it wasn’t time for Arctic winds just yet! 39 regiment RA waved us off with a
breakfast to start the riders off on the right wheel, and with some jogging on
the spot and a few victory laps around the car park they were off. With an
exuberant shout led by Mike who was once again full of what seemed to be
inexhaustible energy.
They set off and the car soon followed, with a look to the
impressive scenery which was soon going to become the norm. Moving through
Northumbria the navigation, purely from a selfish point of view it made a
chance to look at the rolling hills and excessive sheep. Soon to move onto the
first RV it was clear that the hills of Northumbria were on par with Yorkshire,
and calls from Captain Trev of “Guys think of the chocolate!” echoed up the
hill as he drove the team towards the point where the support vehicles were
waiting with supplements, water bottles and sandwiches galore. Added to now the
daily ritual of providing cake today was carrot cake which was swiftly consumed
to the point that there wasn’t air between bites.
On that point, there was a call of “Moving out!” and the
riders were off again to the calls of good luck and well wishes of a bus full
of Canadians and Americans who were on a tourist excursion at the Scottish
border. Prior to the drivers arriving we had been listening to a local man who
was playing bagpipes in full Scottish regalia, which was combined with the game
of “guess the nationality of the tourist”.
Then it was time to move off again, the car taking the same
road as the riders which gave us the luxury of winding down the window and
shouting out encouragement. Whether that was received isn’t clear but they’re
polite enough to wave back. Up and down, the terrain was an improvement from
yesterday and definitely from a car’s perspective the scenery was more then
worth the effort. We were fully into Scotland now and having never visited before
I was more than excited to see the Scottish heather and high mountains.
Onto the second RV, a layby in Lauder saw the team with
bigger smiles as this time wasn’t at the top of a big hill. This time Anna had
provided them with giant French Fancies which were inhaled as was cookies,
sandwiches, bananas and flapjacks. It was half an exercise in how fast the team
could eat and how fast the support team could provide them with food.
They were off again. This may sound repetitive but from a
support team perspective, it is truly impressive to watch the teams move out at
such a rapid pace after such a short break. With Rob Joles and his gangster
sunglasses leading the pack, and rider Emma resuming the race as a ceremonial
nod to entering her home city they zoomed off.
We leapfrogged with the team, driving alongside to yell
encouragement, driving ahead and repeating the motion. It wasn’t until we were
just outside Edinburgh and we were waiting to shot encouragement. It wasn’t
before we realised that the cyclists were taking a while that the RSM set off
in the car to see what was going on. We then received a phone call from Captain
Trev saying “We’re at the Castle…where’re you?” to which we accelerated and
found the castle with a few choice words given to the satnav that sent us to a
random park. Arriving at the castle was an amazing experience and then staying
in the 4 Scots barracks was a welcome reception. Moving swiftly to the Scottish
Parliament to meet the Veterans Minister provided the team with some incentive
as we were met by representatives from Combat Stress and ABF. Then it was back
to the Castle to do some important admin such as eating chocolate and making
beds. Priorities straight it was off to bed, ready for another 100 miles
tomorrow.
Remember:
“If you’re stopping to rhyme, get on the climb”
Photos will be added at a later date when wireless is more reliable
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